The gap is absolutely closing this year and It's a lie to claim otherwise

Been a lot of EU this NA that bickering on this reddit the last few days, and thats been a lot of fun but can we all take the time to appreciate that the gap between the west and the east this year is significantly closer than it ever has been post 2019/20!

The first half of this decade (aware) has been pretty bleak for the west internationally. Long has it been since the glory days of TL & G2 making MSI finals, Fnatic/G2 making world finals, winning BO5s against literal world champions etc...

Sure we had some flash in the pan moments like G2 almost beating T1 a few MSIs ago, or Flyquest almost beating tournament favourites Geng in worlds 2024 but the concensus has been pretty concrete for the last few seasons, that the gap just keeps growing, and that the west can't keep up with the rate that the top eastern teams like BLG, Geng, T1 etc are improving.

I ain't having none of that this year. Apart from BLG who have looked the most consistant all year so far, every eastern team has either been beaten, or had moments where they absolutely could have been beaten by a western team in a bo5. And even then with BLG, their first stand finals against G2 may not have been a close 3-2, but there were absolutely moments where it looked like that series could have been taken to game 5.

I really hope the results so far don't just get completely erased going into worlds. Sure you can say it's really just G2/Lyon, not EU/NA, but the point is, these are the best teams from the west, and they absolutely are / should be respected by the east this year.